Gephardt: Army Of Ambassadors Help SL County Businesses Comply With New Rules
May 12, 2020, 11:06 AM | Updated: 1:41 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As businesses reopen, one thing is clear: There is a lot of confusion over the new rules that have to be followed.
The Salt Lake County Health Department is aiming to remedy that.
Inside the dining area of Salt Lake County’s Old Mill golf course’s clubhouse, a group of about 20 mostly-county employees were trained for a new county role that most never expected.
From IT guys to interns, they learned how to be health department ambassadors.
At the health department, their phones have been ringing off the hook with gyms, salons and restaurants looking for some clarification on the new rules they’re supposed to be following. So health department managers are teaching folks who will then head out in pairs to the more than 9,000 health department-regulated businesses in the county.
To business owners, they said they come in peace.
“This is non regulatory, so please don’t go in with the air of, ‘I am in charge when I come to your place, and you better listen,’” Food Protection Bureau Manager Jeff Oaks told the room. “I mean that doesn’t even work for inspectors, right?”
The ambassadors will not have the power to write citations or even order a business to fix an issue. They can report issues back to health department inspectors who will follow up.
But health department bosses said that’s not their main objective. The real goal is to help businesses succeed in these trying times.
“We can’t change the rules,” Oaks said. “We’re just here to help you understand what they say.”
